The present invention, and the various embodiments thereof, relate to wireless network communications and, in particular, to the detection of a wireless computer network that is available to a mobile device user.
The demand for wireless communications has enjoyed tremendous growth over recent years and indeed, wireless communication technology is used every day by millions around the world to send, receive, and exchange information using pagers, cellular telephones, wireless personal digital assistants, and other wireless communication products. Recently, the revolution in wireless communication technologies has carried over to business and personal computing. Wireless communication technology now permits computer users to access and share information and data, without being tethered by wire to a computer network infrastructure traditionally used to connect computing devices.
The computer network infrastructure traditionally used to connect computing devices generally relies upon the implementation of standard local area network (LAN) protocols, including Ethernet. These protocols permit organizations of every size to construct computer networks comprised of multiple computing devices connected to one another via hardwire connections. The traditional hardwired LAN provides for the high speed exchange of data using relatively inexpensive network connection devices. Indeed, a computer network is an essential requirement for operating a modern business enterprise. Employees of virtually every size business gain access to and share information and data over a digital LAN. Until recently, LANs required that the computing devices be interconnected using physical hardwired connections or network adapters forming the network infrastructure. Even computer users using portable laptop and notebook computers were relegated to having to connect these devices via a hardwired connection to the company infrastructure in order to gain access to the company network and its various resources, including data storage, modems, gateways, and printing devices.
The recent development and commercialization of wireless communications has now carried over to the corporate and indeed even the home LAN. Wireless network services offer great benefit to the mobile computer user. For example, the mobile user need not carry cumbersome cables and connectors to connect to a hard-wired network. Of course, the major benefit of a wireless LAN is the increased portability of computing devices used within such an infrastructure. Freed from the physical connections tying computing devices to the network, network users are free to move about the home or workplace without restriction, and are able to access a wireless LAN from nearly every location covered by the wireless network. On the other hand, wireless network services typically operate on unlicensed portions of the frequency spectrum where other potentially interfering and competing devices also operate.
A wireless LAN is typically implemented using radio transceivers which provide a wireless connection between the computing devices, or peripherals, and the network backbone comprised of other computers, servers, and peripherals. One or more transceivers are typically configured as wireless access points (WAPs). Wireless access points are, in turn, connected via a physical hardwire infrastructure to the computer network. The WAP further communicates via a radio link with radio transceivers associated with the computing devices of a user. Devices such as laptop or notebook computers, desktop computers, and even printers can be equipped with a wireless PC card, or wireless network adapter, containing the transceiver which communicates with the WAP.
Owing to the increased availability of wireless networks, laptop and notebook computer users are able to perform their tasks with increased mobility. For example, a user can take his or her laptop from their desk into a conference room to attend a meeting and still have access to the network to retrieve data and have access to the Internet via one or more modems or gateways present on the network—all without being tethered by a wired connection. Similarly, mobile computer users and business travelers commonly use their portable computers to gain access to their email accounts, to determine if there is any unread email, and to read and send email. Still further, being able to connect to the Internet permits the user to perform these tasks and others without having to suffer through the lackluster performance provided by conventional 56 K modem connections which use the telephone network to establish communications. Indeed, high speed Internet access via a WAP is highly desirable when considered vis-a-vis a connection made via use of a conventional 56 K modem. Thus, as more and more laptop and notebook computers are being equipped with integrated wireless network adapters, the implementation of wireless LANs in the business environment, and even within residences, is surely to expand.
A further expansion of the use of wireless computer networks now permits laptop and notebook computer users to use their portable computing devices to access public and private computer networks at locations away from their own office or home networks. Internet service providers, telecommunications companies, and wireless network providers have begun to install WAPs in locations such as airport lounges, hotel lobbies, and coffee bars. WAPs are being established at these and other public locations where business travelers and general computer users often congregate. These types of public WAPs are typically referred to as “hotspots.” A typical hotspot permits a wireless computer user to gain access to a computer network via a wireless connection created between the wireless network adapter in the user's computer and the public WAP. The hotspot WAP permits the user to gain access to an IP address associated with a modem or gateway to enable the computer user to access the Internet and, potentially, other local network resources, such as printers, which are associated with the hotspot.
Public access points may be associated with “open networks” as well as “closed networks.” An open network, for purposes of this disclosure, is a network associated with a public WAP which is accessible to computer users without the need to have previously subscribed to the network operated by the WAP provider. A closed network, for purposes of this disclosure, is a network associated with a public WAP which is accessible to computer users who are already registered users of the network and who, in all likelihood, have paid a fee for such access. A closed network will typically present the user with a login screen, procedure, or script, which may require the user to provide a user name and password to gain access to the network associated with the WAP. An open network may not require any formal login.
In practice, a mobile computer user, such as business traveler carrying a notebook computer, may come upon an airport waiting area or hotel lobby equipped with a WAP. While printed signs may advertise the presence of a WAP, the user has no idea whether the network is indeed active, whether the wireless signal extends to where the user is sitting, or whether the signal strength is adequate to permit a reliable connection to be made with the network. Thus, to attempt to connect to a network via a WAP, the mobile computer user is required to unpack their computer, turn the computer on, wait for it to boot, perform any necessary network configuration, and thereafter launch a web browser before they are able to determine if it is indeed possible to gain access to the network via the WAP, let alone browse the Internet or check for the presence of unread email. As will be appreciated, these steps are found to be very time consuming and frustrating for consumers, especially when it is determined that the WAP fails to exist or is not capable of providing adequate network access.